Gun Murders vs. Terrorism by the Numbers

Juan Cole 01/17/2013

Number of Americans killed in domestic terrorist attacks, 2002-2011: 30

Number of Americans murdered by firearms, 2000-2011: 115,997

Cost of the War on Terror since 9/11: $5 trillion

Cost of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms since 9/11: $12.32 billion

In the combined [pdf] US and European Union statistics for 2010, percentage of terrorist attacks that occurred in the US: .008

Among 23 developed OECD countries, percent of all firearm deaths that occurred in the U.S. in 2003: 80

Number of [pdf] 249 terrorist attacks in 2010 in European Union carried out by Muslim extremists: 3

Number of whites killed by other whites, primarily by firearms, in US, 2000-2009: 46,171

Requirement to board an airplane: Being viewed naked by the TSA.

Requirement to buy a gun from a private seller at a gun show: None.

About the Author

Juan Cole is the founder and chief editor of Informed Comment and Richard P. Mitchell Professor of History at the University of Michigan. He is author of, among many other books, Muhammad: Prophet of Peace amid the Clash of Empires. Follow him at @jricole.